


The Visit

by Wonderlandleighleigh



Category: Excalibur (Comic), Marvel Comics Universe, X-Men
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-18
Updated: 2013-05-18
Packaged: 2017-12-12 05:20:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/807724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wonderlandleighleigh/pseuds/Wonderlandleighleigh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Logan's been wandering lately, and somehow finds himself on the doorstep of his his former protege for the holidays.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Visit

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by Jason Aaron's Wolverine story "A Day in the Life" and taking an AU turn from events in Uncanny X-Men (specifically, Kitty's return from space, being intangible and shmoopy with Colossus).

Out of the corner of his eye, he catches brown hair peeking around the doorway. 

He had been drinking his morning coffee, checking his email, and smoking a morning cigarette (even though he's been promising to quit for years), and all those years of being a spy, and working for intelligence, of always looking over his shoulder and then the years after of being an X-Man (god help him), of being ready for anyone to want to pound his face into the ground had conditioned him to notice the slightest movements; the smallest changes in his surroundings. 

So a tiny head popping around the corner wasn't hard to spot. 

It happens like this every morning. 

He gets up from the table and the laptop, leaving the cigarette, but taking his coffee with him, and moseys into the next room. He looks down at a small person looking up at him with similar blue eyes to his own. 

"You're up early." 

Jake smiles, and then runs away. 

Pete Wisdom groans. "No. No, no, no. It is eight in the sodding morning! It is too early to play tag!" 

His only response is a giggle. 

He sighs, downs the rest of his coffee, and stalks after his son, who giggles more. 

Jake's four, and not good at tag. His legs are small and bony, and he giggles too much to be quiet enough for Pete not to hear where he's going, which is always the same place anyways.

Kitty looks up from their bed, eyes still sleepy, holding Jake, who is nestled into her arms. "Hi." 

Pete grunts and slumps down onto the bed. 

"Somebody is cranky this morning," Kitty teases, as she rocks Jake back and forth.

He gives her a sour look. "Somebody's cranky every bloody morning." Pete flops back and stretches. "Got a email this mornin' from your mates." 

Kitty quirks an eyebrow. She's thankful that most of her former teammates have gotten used to forwarding any important information not only to herself, but to her husband. "Oh? What's going on?" 

"Logan's on the move." 

"Again?" Kitty asked. 

"Yep." 

She sighs and strokes her son's hair as she feels him relax and start to doze against her side. Her old mentor and close friend has been in two states of being lately; running himself completely ragged, or completely MIA. It worries her, and she knows she's not alone. She's had long conversations with Jubilee on the matter, along with Domino. Even a few of Wolverine's Avengers teammates had called looking for a friendly, sympathetic ear. 

"Think he'll come all the way here?" Pete asks, looking up at her. 

"Could do," Kitty shrugs. "He's definitely due for a visit. He hasn't been here since Monster's first birthday." 

Pete grins at that. Jake's nickname is apt, and used affectionately. And he watches so much Sesame Street that when they call him "Monster" he visualizes Cookie Monster or Grover instead of anything traumatizing. 

The phone rings and Jake jerks awake, eyes wide and confused. 

"S'okay," Kitty says gently as she reaches for the phone. "Wisdom," she answers automatically. 

"Up for a visitor?" a familiar voice asks. 

Kitty grins. "We're all still in our pajamas." 

"I can wait." 

"See you in a few." She hangs up. 

Pete groans. "He's out front, isn't he?" 

"Survey says..." 

Pete huffs and sits up. He reaches over and scoops his son into his arms. "Come on, you. Real clothes time." 

"Wassa difference 'tween jammies and 'real' clothes?" Jake asks. 

Kitty grins as she listens to Pete expound on the differences between daytime clothing and pajamas as he carries their son out of the room. She gets up and gets dressed quickly. 

******* 

Logan looks older. They haven't seen each other in three years, so it's no surprise, but as he sits on the front porch of the small house, Kitty thinks she's never seen him look so aged. 

She hands him the steaming mug of coffee and sits down next to him with her own. "So?" 

He takes a sip, and doesn't answer. 

"You know, you've been a favorite topic of conversation lately," she says. "Jubilee calls pretty regular, and even Luke Cage and Spider-Man have rung me up to ask about why you're a nut." 

She's rewarded with a grin, but not much else. "How's the kid?" 

"Amazing," Kitty replies automatically. "I'm apparently one of those moms that thinks everything he does is incredible. Scares the crap out of Pete." 

"It would." 

"He doesn't know much of my side of the family," Kitty says quietly. "He knows Pete's friends, and our mutual ones from around these parts but..." 

Logan eyes her evenly. "You moved across the ocean, Punkin," he reminds her. "Nobody made you." 

Kitty nods. "I know. And I'm happy here." 

"Good." He sips more coffee. "Knew you would be. Sure as hell weren't happy in the States." 

"God, was it so obvious?" 

Logan cracks another grin. "You slugged Petey in the face." 

"He had it coming!" 

"Never said he didn't." 

"Even Illyana said he had it coming," Kitty grumbles. 

"You don't gotta justify it to me," he tells her. "Pounded plenty of people into the ground for no good reason at all." 

"I know." She fiddles with the mug in her hand. "What are you doing here?" 

He stares out at the driveway, and then up at the grey morning sky. "Needed a change." He sighs. "I been triple-timing. Still leading X-Force...still got my spot as an X-Man, and as an Avenger. It's been playin' merry hell with my head lately." 

"I can see how that might be." 

"Would it be too mushy if I mentioned that I miss havin' ya around?" he asks, smirking a little. 

Kitty laughs a little and sips her coffee. "No. Because I miss being around sometimes." She takes a deep breath. "But I was never the same after coming back when Excalibur disbanded. I never quite fit in anymore...and...and I missed..."

Logan nods. "Yeah. He's a sneaky, snarky, wiry sumbitch, your Wisdom." 

"Oh believe me, you have no idea how sneaky, and how snarky," she says. "But he's my sneaky, snarky, wiry sumbitch. So I can deal with it. And without him, I wouldn't have my very own little Monster." 

"Speakin' of," Logan mutters, as the door to the house opens and Jake peers out. 

Kitty waves him over and he scrambles over, and climbs onto her lap. "Jake, you remember, Logan?" 

Jake shakes his head and holds his hand out. "Hi." 

Logan glances at the small, offered hand, before shaking it. "Hi." 

"I'm Jake." 

"I know. I'm Logan." 

Jake nods and pulls his hand away, gripping it into Kitty's shirt. 

"Where's Daddy?" Kitty asks. 

"Saying bad words to the telephone," Jake replies dutifully. 

Logan cocks an eyebrow and tilts his head, and Kitty sighs. 

"It's either his father, his sister, or Ororo." 

"Still with those two?" Logan shakes his head. 

Kitty snickers. "I think it's become more of a game now. You know, since she's moved permanently to Wakanda, nobody gives her a hard time. I think it's refreshing for her when Pete calls her the 'crazy mother-in-law.'" 

Logan lets out a low chuckle and sips the last of his coffee. He looks around the small house, and the small neighborhood. "Not a bad place to live." 

"We like it," Kitty replies. "Lots of kids Jake's age to play with...not far from the city." 

"Locals givin' ya a hard time?" 

She shakes her head. "They don't know. They don't need to know." 

Jake wiggles and slithers from his mother's lap. "Gonna go play!" He darts back into the house just as Pete stumbles out with a pack of Marlboros in hand. He watches his son scramble into the house and then plunks himself down next to Kitty on the steps. 

"Who was on the phone?" she asks, nudging his knee with her own. 

"The crazy wanker," Pete grumbles as he lights cigarette with the tip of his finger. 

"His dad," Kitty translates for Logan. "What did he want this time." 

"I don't know, I wasn't paying attention," Pete replies, grumbling. 

Kitty translates again. "That's Wisdom-speak for 'I do not want to talk about this.'" 

Pete gives her a pointed glare and takes a puff off his cigarette. "So?" he says to Logan. "Just here for the coffee, or stayin' a while?" 

"That an invite?" Logan asks, sitting back and looking at the couple. 

It always startles him how grown up Kitty is now. He remembers her as a clumsy thirteen-year-old, trying on various costumes and codenames. It's sometimes difficult to believe that she's a wife and mother and the brains behind British Intelligence's technological research team. 

And sometimes it's not.

When Kitty had returned from being stuck in space (just about everyone had thought her dead), everyone had been shocked at her behavior; her choices. But shit like that makes you (whoever you are) rethink your whole life. It's been five years since she left the X-Men, and he's never been prouder of her than when he landed the Blackbird and she waved goodbye to him, walking off to find what she really wanted. 

Which was this, apparently.

Nobody really gets it; what this bright, beautiful, young woman is doing with damaged goods like Wisdom. But the truth is quite simple, really. He keeps up with her. Sure, he may not be a computer genius like she is, but he can keep up with the things she does and says, and he presents challenges to her, too. They always seem like they're on the same wavelength. 

Like now.

Kitty nods. "Yeah, it is." 

Pete gives his own nod of agreement. 

"Then yeah," Logan tells them. "For a few days at least. I'm stayin." 

Kitty looks pleased as all get-out, and Pete grins, satisfied at the very least that his wife is happy. 

Logan watches quietly as Kitty gets to her feet and rushes inside, telling them she's going to get out blankets and pillows for the couch. Pete makes a snarky comment, wondering if Logan actually sleeps on surfaces or still prefers being curled up on the floor like a puppy and Logan pops a claw, slicing his cigarette at the end. 

Pete glares, and Logan merely gives him a shit-eating grin; one he usually reserves for Scott. 

"I'll thank you to keep those to yourself in front of my kid," Pete says. 

"Yeah, yeah," Logan grumbles back. "How you been, Wisdom?" 

"On Holiday til after the new year, unless something psychotically bloody awful happens," Pete replies, lighting up another cigarette. "MI-13 keeps me on me toes, but it's good to have the time off like this." 

Logan nods. "Yeah, I hear ya." 

Pete looks him up and down as he puffs on his cigarette. "You look like hell, by the way." 

Logan shakes his head and drinks more coffee. "Now yer just flattering me." 

Pete chuckles and shakes his head, knowing it's going to be an interesting Christmas season.


End file.
